Mr FixIt
by Em Meredith
Summary: LukeLorelai and a broken bathtub. Written for Ryo Sen for the bubbleficathon.


Title: Mr. Fix-It

Author: Em Meredith

Fandom: Gilmore Girls

Pairing & Prompt: Luke/Lorelai, a broken bathtub. Written for Ryo Sen for the bubbleficathon.

Summary: Takes place probably mid to late season 4.

Disclaimer: They belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino & Warner Brothers. I'm just borrowing them. I will now gleefully return them.

Author's Notes: This was my first time (and I'm thinking last as well) writing in this fandom. Many thanks to Macha for betaing the hell out of this. Thanks also to everyone who signed up for the bubbleficathon. Y'all have written some amazing stories!

"You're here!" Lorelai squealed, throwing open the door before Luke had even had a chance to knock.

"Settle down," Luke ordered gruffly. "I got here as quickly as I could. What's the problem?"

"Here, I'll show you." She grabbed one of his flannel sleeves and tugged him into the house, dragging him up the stairs by the hand. She pulled him into her bathroom and pointed rather impatiently to the tub. "See? It's broken."

"Lorelai," Luke growled. "I thought you said this was an emergency."

"It is! My tub is empty!" It seemed like a pretty obvious problem to her, but Luke was giving her that look that meant he thought she was being overly dramatic. She ignored it and kept pointing at the tub, hoping he'd begin to understand the severity of the problem.

"Is there water spraying out of the pipes or leaking all over the floor?" 

"No," she admitted impatiently, "but--"

"Then it's not an emergency," Luke glowered.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, mister. I need to take a bubblebath. I had a crazy day at the inn involving a flock of geese and a story that you so don't want to hear. Then my mother called, which, naturally, meant we had a fight, and then I broke the heel on my favorite pumps. Granted, that meant they matched the giant run in my pantyhose, but it still wasn't the look I was going for. The only way I've managed to claw my way through this day is by pleading with Calgon to take me away," Lorelai poked him in the chest to emphasize her point. "Now I'm here and I'm ready and I can't take a bath, which means that pretty soon I'll turn crazier than Courtney Love, and you don't want that, do you?"

"No. You're crazy enough already." His voice was still cranky, but she could tell he was fighting a smile.

"Luke--"

He cut her off, gesturing to to the bathtub, which looked perfectly normal. No spraying water, no exposed pipes. "What's wrong with the tub?"

"Okay, maybe your reputation as Mr. Fix-It is overrated. Aren't you supposed to be telling me that?"

Luke took a deep breath. "Why do you think it's broken?"

"I turn on the water and fill up the tub, and the water disappears. It's like the Bermuda Triangle. Except without the planes and boats and stuff  
disappearing into the water, because for that to happen I would need to actually have water in the tub."

There was a long pause during which Lorelai suspected Luke was counting to ten. "Did you close the drain?"

"Of course," she frowned. "But it's been a while since I took a bath, and the drain didn't want to close right away. Don't worry--I helped." She used her most charming smile on him, but Luke had his eyes closed and was hiding his face in his hands, so she suspected the smile wasn't as effective as usual.

"Please don't tell me you used a hammer on a drain."

"I didn't!"

"Lorelai."

"I did not use a hammer on the drain."

"Lorelai."

"Go ahead and search me, officer. I don't even own a hammer."

"Now that I believe. What'd you use instead?"

Lorelai gasped indignantly. "I resent your implication."

"I can't fix it if I don't know how badly you mangled it."

"I did not mangle--"

"Lorelai."

"Okay, it's possible I might have used a screwdriver."

"Geez, Lorelai! You're lucky you didn't crack the tub!"

"Lesson learned for next time. Can you fix it?"

"I can try."

"Yay!"

Sadly, it seemed that Lorelai's dance of joy was lost on Luke, since he ignored her and got straight to work. She sat on the countertop and watched him work, entertaining him with a steady monologue comparing and contrasting the relative merits of "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail."

At least, she thought it was entertaining. And she figured Luke did, too, since after about fifteen minutes he stopped asking her to shut the hell up.

She was in the middle of explaining why Victor Garber and Tom Hanks should have their own sitcom when Luke one last thing to the tub with his wrench (or hammer, or saw--Lorelai wasn't quite sure) and started putting his tools away in Bert.

"It's fixed."

"Thanks, Luke!" she squealed, jumping off the counter. "You're the best! Your Mr.Fix-It reputation is safe."

"I'll see you later. Enjoy your bath." Now that his handywork was done, Luke looked like he couldn't get out of the bathroom fast enough. Unfortunately for him, Lorelai had grabbed onto his sleeve again.

"Wait one second there, pal! You can't leave."

"Watch me. You're all set and I'm outta here."

"But what if it's not really fixed?"

"It is," he insisted. "I tested it."

"You ran two ounces of water and it didn't leak. Two ounces is, obviously, really, really light. So what if it didn't leak with two measly ounces of water! It has to hold en entire tub full! That must be... you know, heavy. There are gallons and gallons of water that are about to get dumped in here, and what if the water pressure just ruins all your handiwork?What if it can't hold up to a whole tub full and the Bermuda Triangle comes back? "

"It can hold up to an entire tub full of water, I promise." Luke peeled her fingers off of his shirt, ignoring her pouting. "I'm leaving now."

"Please? Just stay long enough for me to be sure."

"NO."

"You know that if you don't stay, I'll just end up calling you back over, and then you'll have wasted all that time going back to the diner when it was just easier to stay here in the first place while I drew myself a bath."

"It would be easier if you would take my word for it and let me get back to my diner."

"Oh, relax. You've already missed the dinner rush--"

"And whose fault is that?"

"--and you don't want to test the limits of my sanity after the crappy day I've had. And look--while you've been arguing with me the tub has filled halfway. If you'd just give in and follow my directions in the first place, that would be easier."

"I'll keep that in mind for the next time you make me drop everything to attend to your every need."

"Oooh, dirty!"

Luke stared at the wall as if he was considering banging his head on it. "I'm going now, Lorelai."

"Please, Luke? Just sit outside while I test it out and then you can leave. I'll bring you a nice pile of blankets to sit on so you'll be comfortable."

"I don't need a pile of blankets."

"You don't mind standing? Okay, great!"

"No, I didn't mean--" Luke sighed. "You know what? You're right. It is easier. I'll stand outside. Hurry the hell up."

He went out into the hallway and even over the rush of the water Lorelai could hear him ranting to himself about crazy women with broken bathtubs. It made her smile while she picked out her favorite bubblebath and filled the tub with water and an almost dangerous amount of bubbles. When she'd determined that she had enough of both, she turned off the faucet and eased into the hot, soapy water. She could feel the day's stress easing away and she couldn't help the moan of satisfaction she made.

There was a noise from the hallway which sounded rather like a groan.

"Did you say something, Luke?"

"No. No. Not a damn thing."

She splashed around in the water, trying to find the washcloth.

When Luke spoke again he sounded as frustrated as she'd ever heard him. "Is it working? The tub's fixed, right?"

"See, even you doubt your handiwork!"

"Lorelai."

"Yes," she sighed, blissful. "It's fixed. I have warm water and bubbles, and the tub isn't draining. It's almost perfect."

"Almost?"

"Well, there's one thing wrong."

"What now?"

"You have to come in here."

"Uh, aren't you in the bathtub?"

"It's fine! I've got about a zillion bubbles covering me."

Luke poked his head around the door, and Lorelai didn't think she'd ever seen him look so hesitant.

"Come here," she told him.

He approached the tub warily, only getting near it when she arched an eyebrow at him.

"What's--" he cleared his throat. "What's wrong with the tub?"

She reached up and grabbed his flannel shirt again, tugging on it. This time he came willingly, but he stilled looked confused, until she pulled his shirt, brought him flush against her mouth, and kissed him, bubbles flying everywhere.

"The only thing wrong with this bath," she told him mischievously, "is that I'm lonely."

"Oh." Realization dawned on Luke's face and he leaned back down to kiss her again. "Well, conveniently enough I can fix that, too."

END.


End file.
